I'm retired from racing. Really.

PM- 12 miles at about 7:40 pace- 1 with the jogging stroller, most with Cody, some with Paul.  It was sunny but just above freezing with a breeze- in other words, still rather cold, despite looking nice.  Felt tired and sluggish, which isn't a surprise supposing I haven't run since last Wed.  I did get some awesome farmer blows, though, and could breath thru my nose for the first time in 3 days.  Here is my route- I don't think anyone other than Cody and Paul can figure it out:  PW, PH, LH, CH, PW, MH.  I did the last 4 miles alone- it always seems much harder to finish off a run by yourself after running with people for the first part, esp. when you are cold and tired.

AM- I got in bed by 10 last night, but tossed and turned for over 3 hours, finally falling asleep sometime after 1. Annoying. Nevertheless, I got up at 4 this morning for my run. I think I am going to be tired today. Plus my company is laying off 300 people today- hopefully I am not one of them. 6.5 miles.

PM- I did not get laid off, but it is not fun at all to watch your friends and coworkers leave.  Just sad.  For my workout, Paul and I were going to do a tempo on the First Dam 10k course.  The weather was rather cold, with some intermittent wind and snow.  After 3 miles warm up, we were off.  My legs again felt sluggish during the entire run, just like the previous 2 weeks- not sure why, but I hope it goes away.  The goal was about 6:00 pace for the run.  I cannot say I ran with Paul during the workout- I just watched him progressively get further away.  My first mile was 6:29, then 6:49, then 7:04.  I had nothing.  Nothing.  The rest of the workout I struggled to hold 7:30 pace, plus had to stop for a bathroom break.  Paul finished his workout, ran home, showered, ate dinner, watched a few episodes of the Simpsons, got back into his running clothes and ran back to the park... and he still got there before I finished my workout.  2.5 mile slog home.

So I can declare today was one of the 5 worst workouts of my life.  Crap.  I either have to write it off, or else I will get so depressed about my current fitness that I would quit running, eat lots of candy, get huge, and have to go on "The Biggest Loser" in a few years just so I could walk around the block in less than an hour.  [Commentator]- "He used to be a 2:40 marathoner.  Now he just wants to lose 240 pounds.  Please welcome, Jon!"

AM- 6. As tired as I am right now, I'm really debating the whole run vs. sleep benefit. Sleep might win tomorrow.

Thinking of yesterday's terrible workout, I think part of the problem was due to the stress of the day and the layoffs. A lot of my coworkers said this morning that they got home last night and felt like a truck had run over them. Just a bad, stressful day. So hopefully that was the problem.

PM- 7.5 easy.  My legs are starting to feel better- hopefully another easy day tomorrow will have me ready.

PM- 5.5 easy miles.  Now it's race time- hopefully it won't be windy like last year.  Although the weather predictions right now call for snow and wind.  I figure that will just keep people away and earn me a higher place, more food, and less people in the port-o-potties.

Striders 1/2 marathon. Cold and snowy at the start, occasional blustery wind thru mile 9, then the mother of all headwinds to the finish. I had been fighting a cold all week and had a bummer of a Tuesday workout, but felt I could do ok.  Splits were 5:39, 5:52, 5:56, 5:58, 5:56, 6:05, 6:05, 6:17, 6:27, 6:20, 6:50, 6:47, 6:44, .1 in :38.

The first mile was a bit quick but felt ok.  I ran with Jeff MacArthur thru mile 5, then he made a huge move, had a great race, and caught 2 people, beating my by 2.5 minutes.  I ran alone the rest of the way, with the closest guys 2 min ahead and 1 min behind.  I did ok till about mile 8 then started tiring.  The huge, strong, steady headwind from mile 9 to the finish absolutely sapped any remaining strength, making it a slow, slow slog to the finish.  I think the wind in the last 4 miles was stronger than last year's, which is amazing- it was so strong it was literally knocking my upwind leg into my other leg mid-stride... never had that happen before.  The sad part is my time this year is 45 seconds slower than last year, even though we had a headwind the entire race last year and I had practically been on my deathbed the week before with an illness (although I did have someone to work with last year to conquer the wind).  Pretty lousy race- the highlight was food and hot cocoa at the finish, followed by about 45 minutes warming up in Paul's car- we were shivering popsicles at the finish.

I just have to believe that if I keep putting in the miles and working hard, eventually things will improve.  Oh yeah, and quit getting sick, which has happened about 2-3 times/month since December.  Not kidding.  It's getting really old by now.

Lots of good food at the finish, and ran 3 miles cooldown with Paul and Cody.  10 min pace.  To add some adventure, the parking lot was a muddy field, so we helped push 3 or 4 cars out before heading home.  So of course we were covered in mud and spread it to Paul's car.  Sorry. 

I have been getting headaches this week and started getting one after the race.  During the drive home, it became incredibly, incredibly painful- by far the most excruciating headache of my life.  By the time we got home, I could hardly stand or open my eyes, and almost threw up.  Excruciating pain.  But I felt better a few hours later after drugs and a nap.  I truly empathize for anyone who gets regular migraines- I can't imagine what it would be like to experience that every day.

For the record, the weather at Striders 1/2 stinks- strong headwind 2 out of 2 years.